Denny Family

2012-01-11T13:20:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone!! things over the past year has been quite busy in put home ....job changes school changes etc etc.....Steven now works full time at church....I do CNA work part time. Briana goes to the local college for advanced high school courses. taylor is in sixth grade at the same elementary school as last year , the clincher split 3 kids at 1 school to kids at another all in second grade. we are so blessed to still be in our home, to be able to serve others around us, get more connected at church...have a safe spring!!

2011-02-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

Now that we are thru with the holiday season; it's back to school, work & other daily adventures around the Denny Home! Lots of changes and exciting things going on around here to say the least! First off; two of the quints are now homeschooled full time due to some medical issues they have been having. Being gone from the house 8:30-4:30 five days a week isn't conducive to investigating why there are behavioral and medical issues happening so Alexis and Anthony are with me full time now. What a blessing in disguise this has been! They love a quiet house during the day and willingly do whatever work I ask of them.
We continue with Speech, Occupational, Vision therapies as well as horse riding when the weather permits and PT at home. Joshua, Jiliana and Julian are still in regular public school and seem to be doing well this year although the class sizes are much too large in my opinion being at 28 kids apiece.
Taylor is in fifth grade and loves her teacher but goes back and forth with weather she's like to be homeschooled as well; she doesn't do lots of drama with friends and hates getting up early so we shall see about that! Briana is in eighth grade and so excited about high school next year.....she has straight A's, loves musical theater & spanish class and has a small group of friends she hangs with. She could do without the bus ride to/from school, but she is happy about the way things are going. New laptop for Christmas & a recent history day competition here in town are on the highlights of recent stuff for her!
We also have an exchange student this year; her name is Geyla and she's 17 next week. She is in 11th grade and will be here until mid- June. She has made lots of other exchange student friends and gets together for activities with the program here in town often. She comes from a small town in central Russia; an only child raised by her grandparents so coming to this family was a shock to her ....but she enjoys having lots of people around. Living out in the country is a bit hard for her as back home she's used to walking everywhere or taking a bus; but living out here takes more planning on the transportation side of things!
We are so blessed by our home, our children and those around us we get to help and minister to on a daily basis....we hope this spring time season brings health and happiness to each of you!

Back To School Already ?!

2010-09-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

I cannot beleive time has flown by so quickly and it's already back to school time! Since moving into a new home in a new school district; we have enrolled all the children in the local school(s) and so far, so good!! The kids are liking their new classes and riding the bus is an added bonus as long as they behave themselves!
A new change in our home is an exchange student has joined our family for this school year! Her name is Geyla and she is from southern Russia; she is an only child living with her grandparents in the middle of town. To come here to the country with a big family, a huge school, a school bus and limited communications, I would say she's done lovely with the adjusting to America bit!! She helps with horse riding therapy and loves spending time with the kids; going on Skype to talk with family back home, picking her courses for high school, making new friends!!
Briana started eighth grade this year and although she feels a bit behind after homeschooling for a year, she is keeping up nicely with others her age. She's made a few friends so she has lunch buddies, people in class she knows and takes the bus to/from school with Geyla each day. She loves helping at horse riding therapy as well and wants to learn some new instruments to take band in high school next year. She sings in the women's choir at church and is growing into a lovely young lady !
Taylor is loving her new school, her new class, her new friends!!! Fifth grade is great, she is challenged and doing above grade level' she's the teachers lil' pet and for now, that's a good thing. She keeps track of her siblings on the bus and is known as "mama duck" at school!! She has friends in class, understands the work and loves the teacher so she is happy!
Alexis is doing well academically but still struggles with social/emotional issues both at school and at home. She has been diagnosed with a seizure disorder which means more therapy, tests, medcial appts, etc.....but she loves her new school and her new class. Joshua and Anthony have their good and bad days; they are doing well academically but still tend to be loud and disruptive in class sometimes.....having three in one class is still challenging but the teachers seem to be okay with the setup for now.
Julian and Jiliana are in another 1st grade class and while they dont' interact with each other they are having a hard time adjusting to a new class, new teacher, new bus, kids, etc.....Julian has a hard time with impulse conrol and Jiliana cannot be quite to save her life so we shall see how the next few weeks / months move along for them. Academically they are at or above grade level so this is a relief to me !!
As for me; well, my life is NEVER busy enough, so I am going back to school now - yeah - I know, in my spare time - hee hee hee -- I am starting nursing program just this week then move onto the two yr RN program after completing this one (CNA) ....I love to help people and nursing pays anywhere you go in a variety of situations (hosptials, residential homes, home visits, etc) so I am excited about this new chapter in my life; the schedule is crazy, the tests are crazier, but if I can gracefully survive "state approved" testing and clinicals, I can survive anything !!

HAPPY SEPTEMBER RICK -- THIS POST IS FOR YOU MY DEAR !!!

HAPPY SUMMER!

2010-06-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

....PRAISE THE LORD ! We are done with school; done with driving into town 2-4 times per day (12 miles each way!!) ....DONE DONE DONE!!!! Woot Woot! Though Steven did not get into the Biggest Loser 10 final cut; we know God has better plans then those at this point in our lives. The kids have just finished kindergarten, fourth grade & seventh grade. We have decided to enroll the older girls in school again for a variety of resons, but the main one being they want to go back, to see friends each day, to have teachers other then me, etc. After praying and weighing options, I have decided that this is best for now...though homeschooling isn't entirly out of the question in the future, for now all the kids will be in school. Our new home is located in a new school district which I have found to be more understanding of our family dynamics, therapy schedules, etc....so I am excited for the fresh start the kids get.
They will take the bus each day--it will come right up the street for middle/high school and in front of the house for elem. school. The teachers are eager to have the kids; the house is mostly unpacked and settled....we are finally comfortable for the first time in a long time! We got a new dog, Franky--to add to the growing family-he is a beagle hound mix, twice the size of Sammy, our first dog and the kids AND Sammy all love him!
We are looking forward to a summer trip this year to TN to see my dad & step-mom. Then up to KY to see my husband's aunt who will give Anthony two turtles all his own! We are doing summer horse riding therapy, soccer session in a local club out here, VBS at two different churches in the forest near our home & my MIL is coming to visit in late July for a few weeks. A trip with my mom to Vegas for a family reunion of sorts & an overnight with my hubby to celebrate (late) our anniversary will make our summer complete! Cannot wait for our trampoline & possibly if the Lord sees fit; a trailer or pop up to camp in on weekends but also to save on hotel costs when traveling to visit family.
Loving the warm weather; loveing the sprinklers, could do with out the snakes, but hey, we love it out here in the country!!!!

HAPPY SUMMER!!!!

.....the wait is over.......

2010-05-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

..........well after weeks of waiting -we found out two weeks ago that Steven did NOT make it into TBL10. I was so bummed for a few days but then realized that perhaps God had a better plan for him then to be gone all summer long.
The kids are almost finished with school; the quints kindergarten year has gone well & the older girls are glad to be done with homeschooling in the next few weeks. Although I thought homeschooling would be the only way to go; I am finding that perhaps I should try new things with schooling.......the older girls are going back to public school but in a new school district where our new house is located. I pray this will be a better fit for them and for me as well!
There have been other changes to our family life as well--we are in transition with church and attempting to find a new one right now due to several reasons but the change could be good in that there are several churches within two miles of our home out here in the country so to be closer to one would be nice!! We are looking for some thing more family oriented and parent directed so I am hoping God leads us to a good fit for our "unique" family!!
I am looking forward to going back to school this summer to get my CNA license so I can start working part time while the kids are in school. I love helping others & hope that a CNA will allow for me to do home visits for people & show Christ's love on a more personal one on one basis.....not sure about school though--the thought of going back after 12 years of being out is daunting......whew.........we shall see where the summer takes us ! I look forward to the many changes coming for our family !! Have a blessed day !!

STILL WAITING

2010-04-22T07:39:00.000-07:00

We are still waiting, waiting, waiting for the email that could change the course of our year & our family. It all started back in February when I was snooping around online and found out that The Biggest Loser was having an open casting time where people could apply for the next season of the show. As I watched the next snow storm roll over the mountains, I pondered printing up the application; quite lengthy at 15 plus pages. I had tried to get Steven to apply for the show the previous year to lose weight, but he wasn't remotely interested.
What have I got to lose I thought? I could just ask him what he thinks? So quick print and a bunch of noise later, I had an application in my hand for "THE BIGGEST LOSER SEASON 10". Pray over it I thought; that's what I will do....so I prayed over it and left it on the desk to look over another time. The next day Steven called me from work and asked me if I had printed up the application for the show. I told him yes, I thought it would be good to at least apply for it; but there are so many people that apply every season-who knows what could happen? Over the course of the next three weeks we filled out the application page by page, question by question....he spoke, I wrote. What is your relationship with food? I don't even realize I am eating half the time or what I am eating. Are you a stress eater? Is anyone else in your family overweight? What was your childhood like? So many questions; coming up with so many issues we don't normally discuss on a regular day. In March we made a DVD of Steven, introducing the production staff of TBL10 to himself, his family, his life. We burned a copy, attached the application and I took it to the post office. As I sat there waiting for my turn, I realized that this application, this video, this show could be an awnser to so many prayers....prayers for my husband to lead a healthy life, life longer, be a better husband and father, feel better about himself.
So many negative things in our lives were caused by this root problem of the weight gain & the health problems. Dear God, Please let this application lead my husband closer to you, lead others to you, set an example and become a better Steven. Please put a change in his heart so he can look at hmself the way that I look at him, the way that you look at him. Amen

It's now March and we are packing up the house to move into another home. This time it's different though--for the first time in eight years we are becoming homeowners again and we are extatic ! We have found a home that provides for all our needs, most of our wants and some much needed stability for our children. We pack a little more each day, getting closer to closing on the house and getting settled in our own home.....it's hectic, it's loud, it's stressful but it's so worth it! We have found a five bedroom home on acreage; another awnser to prayer. We have bought a truck & sold our old car; another awnser to prayer. We have been given some bedroom furnature that is needed for our middle child all for free; another awnser to prayer. We are so blesed each day it's hard to beleive things could get any better.

APRIL --We are living in our new home full time

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

2009-12-17T07:13:00.000-08:00

Well, it's the holiday season again and although it can be stressful planning and helping out the kids with school stuff, home stuff & everything in between -- I am trying to remember each day why we are celebrating this special time of year. I am working with the kids on an advent calendar, decorating the house, learning more about Haannakah and doing fun stuff like helping out in class with school projects, etc.

The kids are enjoying kindergarten this year and although there have been some ups and down with getting settled into a routine, for the most part they have adjusted well. Their teacher is a friend of mine and having twin boys, was up for the challenge of any sibling issues that might come from having them all in the same class~
The kids have also been evaluated for therapy at a local clinic here in town. Alexis was going to two other clinics farther away and recieving therapies there however once Anthony and eventually the other kids got evaluated as well - we found moving them all to the same clinic to recieve therapy was the only way to keep my sanity levels normal ! We go three mornings a week to the clinic and four of the five quints recieve services there....Alexis still gets her OT, PT, ST & Feeding and now we have Joshua getting ST, Anthony getting PT, OT and ST and Julian getting OT and ST....it's a busy schudule but we are so thankful that they are finally getting the help they need - we'll take whatever we can get!
Steven got hired on full time at Wells Fargo Insurance Services where he'd been temping for the past six mos....it's not much money but there is a benefits package and we can finally get some medical coverage for he and myself out of it - so we are thrilled about that change as well! Also we are looking to buy a home hopefully after the first of the year and Steven is hoping to use his VA loan that is due him....we are thinking up in the mountains about fifteen minutes from town but we'll see where God leads us !
The older girls are doing well with homeschooling although I think we will try a different ciriculum next year as this one was a bit too much focused on hours of attendance vs. weather the material was actually relevant or not.....this area is such a big homeschooling area - we are finding so many levels of involvement and groups, programs, etc....I am excited to investigate other options for next year so the girls can be more engaged and on task~
As for me, I am enjoying having my parents out here - they moved in Sept. to be closer to us, the grandkids, etc....and although it has been a hard adjustment I think they are getting used to the changes. There is, of course, the better medical care, cheaper cost of living and other things that are a bonus, but the change in climate can be a bit much on any native southern Californian I am sure!

Well, we are off and running to do our daily stuff but I am sure there will be more news soon as things are always changed around here ! Blessings on your holidays & a happy 2010 !!

NEW FOUND STARDOM !!!!

2009-10-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

Even if it is just on youtube, the kids had so much fun doing this commercial a few mos. back ! There were a series of seven, some funny, some sexual in nature, but of course I think ours is the best !!!

We are hoping to take another trip out to Ca to do some publicity for the commercial, but we aren't sure since some of the other clips are getting more attention then ours and not all of it is great.......I encourage you to watch all the clips on www.getcrackin.com and you be the judge !

Then, if you like ours, shoot an email to the Ellen Show and let her know about these cute kids (she likes kids and is funny).....I would love for the children to get some well deserved coverage for doing such a great job !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l_BJf1m2tM

We are getting back in gear for another great school year; homeschooling the older girls and the quints attend half day kindergarten in the afternoons!!! So far, so good but then we just take it one day at a time; some days are better then others !

Take Care & God Bless,

Mama Denny

Newsworthy Notations

2009-08-25T13:19:00.000-07:00

Here are some links to media coverage we had in our community for the first day of kindergarten. There are also a set of quads in the half day class so it was newsworthy in Colorado anyways ! I heard thru the grapevine that CNN even picked it up and a few others did blurbs from the AP as well! There are two video clips & one article from the local paper - we made the front page even ~! All the kids insisted on their "own" copy of the paper this AM ~ cute ~!

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/strange/offbeat_cnn_colorado_video_quads_quints_in_same_classroom_20090825915_2803828

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2009/08/25/dnt.quad.quints.class.koaa?iref=videosearch

http://www.gazette.com/articles/kindergarten-60727-quads-quints.html

Picture Woas

2009-07-22T14:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, after trying more then once to upload pictures to photobucket so I can post a slideshow on here; I have given up. I am terribly sorry if you aren't on facebook and haven't seen them there however I cannot seem to get the photos up and running on here no matter how many times I try (three so far) ....it is much too time consuming and energy draining to sit on the computer, compose and upload pix for an hour just to have them shot to hell when something goes wrong with it.

Perhaps I will try again soon, but as of late, not sure and no guarentees - or you can get on Facebook where I also post stuff.

On a side note, the kids will be doing a commercial at the end of next month and Briana perhaps has an opportunity to get in the business as well soon -- more details to come soon !

Take Care & God Bless

HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE !@

2009-07-14T08:23:00.001-07:00

Now that summer has officially been underway for some time now I have finally gotten on the ball and am taking enough time to update everyone about our family adventures this summer. The month of June & the month of July (so far) have held lots of activities, time with friends and one big long vacation to California.

The kids started summer vacation with swimming lessons at the YMCA - just the quints - and for the most part they all did well ! A few of the kiddos were hesitant at first to venture out into open water but eventually after a few sessions they were all dipping in like pros - Julian of course leading the pack in silly and overall life threateneing behavior poolside !

Our trip to California was a huge success and though we were all sufficiently exhausted by the end of it -the kids had a blast at the beach house, Legoland, Sea World, Grandma's house, stopping in Phoenix to see their special doctor & finally a few nights at Steven's aunt & uncle's place in AZ where we met.

July called for fireworks in the house and firworks in the sky ! It seems after a long road trip, everyone was intent on making someone else' life miserable ! For some reason, though they did great on the trip itself, the coming home and getting settled back down left a lot to be desired........whew ...what a first week home that was ! There were lots of time outs, a few spankings, losing electronic privleges (unplugged) amoung other things. Coming home to sleep in our own beds, play in our own rooms and have our own bathrooms to use as we chose was an added perk though!

Sammy missed us profusely and showed us by chewing up and eating the bottom 2/3 of the screen sliding door on the back porch rendering it a total loss....we couldn't really blame him though -- this was the first time he was left on his own for such a long time with just the neighbors stopping by a few times a day to check in on him. He did however let everyone in the whole neighborhood know how dissatisfied he was the first night by howling from sundown to sunup - my poor neighbors ! They didn't know what hit 'em !

Well, I shall sign off for now with a photo spread to come -- hope everyone has a great summer and here's to another great school year starting sooner rather then later !

Blessings on your week XOXOXOXOXOXO

SUMMER SENSATIONS !

2009-05-25T08:13:00.001-07:00

Well, since it is "almost" summer- even here in Colorado - I should start getting ready for our summer vacation next month to California. We will be going to the beach for a week and then going back up to Bakersfield to see some old friends & family. We will go to Disneyland, Legoland & I will be taking the girls to Magic Mountain one day as well. The kids are so excited to see friends and familiy, plus going to the theme parks will be an added treat too ! Some highlights of the past month have been the end of the school year, getting a pass to the zoo here, taking swim lessons & working out at the gym as well. We have had visits from grandparents and have helped some folks out by letting them stay with us for a bit until they got back on their feet; we look forward to what God has in store with house-buying, schooling options for the kids and what the new job for Steven has in store for him ! We also had some family photos taken which I will try and post -they turned out lovely ! Have a great May and stay safe ! XOXOXOXOXOXO

APRIL ADVENTURES

2009-04-22T05:45:00.000-07:00

I have recently started doing a morning bible study and have come to the realization that although I have done well in improving my daily schedule and getting the kids where they need to be and get there on time, part of my struggle has been leaving the smaller details to linger. So as not to dissapoint myself down the road for not keeping up, my new committment is to update this blog once a week; perhaps if I can keep up with it, I will feel more committed to keep up with other "small details" I have forgotten more recently....although I must say, I am very thankful I haven't forgotten a kid or a "large scale item" ever, period. Perhaps my mind isn't going as fast as I thought it was !!
We have had quite the interesting weather to speak of here and though I love a change of season, I must admit the prospect of having all four in one day doesn't do much for me! The kids and I have suffered sinus problems, coughing, runny nose, etc...due to the rapid change in temp. on a daily basis. Perhaps stock in "kleenex" is next for us! The mountains are lovely; the people are great and the kids are on the mend from various illnesses, surgeries, etc.

Some tidbits from out lives in the past weeks:

Grammy & Grandpa Ray came for a visit and we went to the dinosaur museum one day(though the kids liked it, it wasn't as big as I thought it would be!), the famiy fun center another day, and Grammy took the kids on various outings in pairs plus Briana got her own day out with Grammy to celebrate her birthday. They went to the art museum, out to lunch, shopping a bit, etc......and she got to miss a day of school for that, so she was happy ;-)

Spring break was the last week in March and Joshua was down for most of it due to having his tonsils & adnoids out the previous week. Though he had a hard time the first few days; he was an easy recovery with no complications so now everyone is done with surgeries - praise the Lord !

Easter weekend was busy but blessed indeed. Briana sings in the traditional choir at church and they were involved in all Easter weekend services, so we attended a Good Friday service that night, Easter egg hunt Sat. morning (put on by middle & high school kids) then I drove my mom to the airport to fly home. Briana had practice Sat. afternoon for the Sunday morning services and then sang in all three services. Steven and I ushered and I helped in the nursery during the late service. Steven made dinner for Easter Sunday and we enjoyed some much needed time at home with out anyone having to attend any birthday parties, no one had to work and no one was sick - yeah !

Briana turned 12 last week and already I have more grey hair to prove it! I'm not sure how long I am expected to handle her hormone and mine, but my patience is dwindling quickly !@ Though we were supposed to go out of town overnight for a girls activity alone, our plans were quickly shot down by the blizzard that swung thru town and hit the day we were to head out. Alas, breakfast with mom, a movie by herself with dad and having a blue cake didn't improve her mood as much as we thought it should but having an unplanned snow day added to a long weekend already (kids had off MON & Tue) well, it was interesting to say the least !

Steven & I were blessed to go and see two famous Christian artist who were here in town last week; Steven Curtis Chapman & Michael W. Smith.......WOW - what awseome men of God they are ! I even got my t-shirt ! How life changing to see Christian artists who are so talented team up and sing each others' songs, give testimony about love and loss, etc.....they have been friends for 20+ yrs. but finally now have taken the time to tour together. What a blessing for everyone who gets to see them !

With that, I realize it's 7AM and I must wake up offspring for school to be on time ! I hope this finds everyone having a great week and a great Spring! Be thankful, be giving, speak good things and help those in need. This is what God has commanded me to do and I hope you will do it, too. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOOX

Spring Time (Sort Of)

2009-04-07T15:45:00.000-07:00

So the past few months have gone by in such a whirl that I have hardly had time to come up for air ! Alexis was in the hospital back in Februray and I am so happy to say that she has been doing much better since coming home - not even an asthma attack to mention ! Praise the Lord ! March was a month of busy-ness including a visit from Grandma & Grandpa, spring break & more evaluations & appointments. Joshua had his tonsils & adnoids out so that makes six out of the seven kids with no more tonsils ! We have visited the dinosaur museum, the local family fun center, focus on the family, mcdonalds, gotten kindergarten shots & been to our first birthday party for a girl from our Sunday School class.

Taylor got baptised at church this past Sunday too ! It was so exciting to see her make that committment! What an awesome thing to witness & participate in!

I will try and post pictures of all the various events soon - it was lots of stuff in a short period of time !

Here's hoping you have a safe & blessed springtime !

GRAMMY TIME :-)

2009-03-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Ray are here ! We recovered from Josh' surgery just enough to enjoy Mom and Ray coming to town for a visit -- it has been fun to see them lead there grandparents everywhere to play the Wii, pretend to be monsters, etc......Grammy is also planning alone time with the kids in pairs and Briana gets an evening out alone since her birthday is coming up in a few weeks.....
Grandma has also helped out a lot with dr. apts, shots, etc.........to leave a few kids at home with Grammy and take some others with you for apts. is much easier then taking everyone !
We have had spring break this week and so far, so good. Kids have enjoyed the lax schedule and jammie days work for me! Though I will never get caught up on laundry and perhaps my ear plugs will be used more this week; it's nothing a good game of Hi-Ho-Cherrio or Princess Uno won't solve !!!

Steven and I went to a foster care training class last weekend and learned so much about foster to adopt kids and stable enviornments; we didn't realize how many kids there are that are just left to fend for themselves. I can't imagine not having a place to come back home to after turning 18 and venturing on my own.......*sigh* perhaps one day, I'll win the lottery so I can adopt them all ;-) Have a safe and productive week !

Blessings on your Easter Break !

2009-03-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. SEUSS

2009-03-07T08:37:00.000-08:00

So, all the kids celebrated this "momentous occasion" in their classrooms this past week and all came home telling stories of sampling green eggs & ham, reading books by the author, playing silly games and so on........however the icing on the cake was the "Cat In The Hat" Hat that Joshua made at school. It was such a unique activity to do at school and bring home to show off ! I was quite impressed with it until I asked him to put it on so I could take a picture. You'd have thought I told him he was getting a shot or something! The look on his face was worthy of a photo op contest with prize money ! I will try and post it on here as well.

I am thankful that for now anyway, there is no sickness or contagious disease to speak of running it's course in the house and we are feverishly trying to put the breaks on outside activities so we can make time at home to go thru boxes and get rid of things we no longer need or use. We would love to buy a home this summer and hope God provides a way to do so - we would like to have stability and consistence for the kids, especially the two older girls who have been thru more moves in their shorts lives then most folks go thru in a lifetime. Our prayer is to secure a home with some acreage so we can have some room to spread out and perhaps, one day, get some farm animals or a horse,etc......well, that's all for now - take care !

Loving life, Loving God and Loving You ! Have a great day !

The Bowling Blogger

2009-02-27T06:16:00.000-08:00

As you can see, from my last post - we finally broke down and took the kids bowling! We were so relieved to have Lexi out of the hospital, have the family under one roof again and have everyone recovered from their various sicknesses - that Sunday afternoon after church, I wanted to do something with the kids. Just to get them out of the house as a family seemed so important to me for some reason, so after noticing a few other posts from other HOM parents, I decided to try the bowling outing as a first with the kids (seeing as they thought it would be the same as Wii bowling, I was happy to change that prospective !) ....needless to say, Julian didn't find his mark, Taylor pouted about not winning, Briana's speciality was gutter balls and Alexis shocked everyone with her 8th frame strike to win the game!@ We went to a local family owned bowling fun center since they have Family Sunday's where you can have shoe rental and two games for 5.00 pp....not too bad when you are looking for "cheap" fun for the kiddos.....we also got some snacks and a pitcher of pink lemonade for the kids to share.....I, myself needed a beer to keep everyone under control (for me not the kids !)
Overall, it was a successful outing and tho there was some whining at the end of the day -- I felt like we had fun and the kids listening decently plus an added bonus was that due to the colder weather and later afternoon time, the place was nearly empty! Another feat tried, tested and mastered !

Our First Bowling Alley Experience ~!

2009-02-24T07:35:00.001-08:00

PRAYERS ANSWERED !

2009-02-23T12:38:00.000-08:00

Alexis got to come home the day after Valentines Day last weekend on Sunday ! She is doing so much better and although she is on a ten day regiment of orapred and on oxygen at night - she is happy to be back at school and back at home with her siblings for sure ! The past week has been spent catching up on Dr. apts, phone calls, school stuff, etc........but we are all thankful to be together under one roof again !

Thanks for all your prayers and thought over the past few weeks ! They truely make such a difference !
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

CONTAGIOUS DISEASE (round two )

2009-02-13T04:54:00.000-08:00

First off, I would like to say I am sorry for not updating my blog sooner then five weeks ago - I temporarily got sucked into the world of Facebook and neglected this site which I will try not to repeat too often.
My poor Alexis, she was finally recovered from the last sickness last month (see last post) and she has been hit again.........this time it's pnemonia and she has been admitted to the hospital for treatment. This poor girl never gets a break it seems and it's so frustrating to watch her struggle for every breath, have IV fluids, go to ER's and take the hard road each time someone gets sick in the house.

The other little ones are doing fine however they also have a contagious disease of the week including but not limited to sinus infection, ear infection (now on the mend) and another one with treatable at home pnemonia........it's amazing how fast everyone goes downhill during winter / RSV season........*sigh*

I must say that tho this has caused uproar in the home and with work, school functions, girl scout cookie delivery, etc.......we are so thankful God has brought us to a place of knowlege and understanding where staff and facilities here are more organized and caring with pediatrics then anywhere else I have seen before. The nurses just love the kids and treat them so nicely and with care........I have seen RSV cases, viral cases and not sure what it is cases with pediatrics here and always the time managed care and consideration for the parents amazes me.

I must check on my poor baby and prayer over her for healing and wellness again -- I hope she can go home soon to be with her sibs and get well enough to return to school next week -- prayers for her recovery would be most apprecaited as well as prayers for some sleep and peace for mom and dad !

Blessings on your weekend !!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR (and other medically based stories!)

2009-01-09T12:37:00.001-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR ! I trust that this finds you enjoying the winter months (as much as possible!) and trying to stay healthy during this lovely cold and flu season ! Things here have been educational to say the least. Last weekend I had to take Alexis back into the ER because she was breathing optional again (and in true Alexis- style - she only does this whole lack of breathing thing on a weekend, after 5pm or on a major holiday so to ER we go) .....her o's were at 85-89 % without oxygen so they called the RT downstairs and got her into a room where they hooked her up to oxygen and monitored her BP. Off to xray to have a look at her lungs (which were clear -thank God !) and some litocain and pain killers to stop the coughing to the point of throwing up that landed her in there in the first place.

It was a long afternoon combined with Steven working (on a Saturday) and the weather getting bad as the day went on; but ER is only five minutes from the house and I am thankful we weren't in California anymore - the staff here knows us and knew who we were right away when I brought her in....called her by name and took us back immediately......as I was thanking God we were in such a loving place that truely cares about my kiddos !@

Alexis was sent home on oxygen and had a follow up apt. in four days, this past Wednesday. The dr. ordered a nocturnal pulse ox on room air and wants a recheck in two weeks - we also did an RSV swab which we never got a call back on so as of yet - we assume it's negative. No fevers, no more coughing (love that Zithromax!) and the doctor said we could just have the oxygen on at night during bedtime so she doesn't have to have it at school, or therapy, or MOPS or church - she can be "normal" which I am again so thankful for !!!

Glad to have such wonderful folks praying for my children daily -- and knowing that God provides all things,

Lyndsey

HAPPY & BLESSED 2009 !

2009-01-02T11:31:00.000-08:00

HELLO EVERYONE - Here's hoping each of you had a blessed New Year's Eve & Day ! We went decidedly low key - which was nice for a change ! We took the kids and went over to a girlfriend's house where she was hosting a family get together for the New Year -- there was her family, our family and one other couple with their kids bringing the grand total of bodies in the home to 16 kids & 6 adults ! Amazingly the commotion in the house wasn't too much - well nothing an alcoholic beverage couldn't solve (us not the kids!) Our kids were all in the same age ranges - from 12 all the way down to 2 so it was nice -everyone had someone to play with......

.......the kids are enjoying the time at home - lazy days, not too many committments, playing new computer and Wii games, taking down and packing up Christmas stuff and cleaning out rooms and closets to pass on stuff we don't need anymore.....here's hoping the new year brings you wonderful times and blessed days !

Christmas Chaos

2008-12-25T13:25:00.001-08:00

BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD !

2008-12-25T12:32:00.001-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND BLESSINGS TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU !
What a wonderful Christmas week we have had in the Denny home ! We have been busy wrapping presents, preparing food and helping the kids get ready for Jesus' birthday today ! We have some traditions in our home that have kept the kids in the spirit of Christmas this week ...... Taylor made Potato Latkes & Kielbasa - a Hungarian / Polish dish that we all love to have on Christmas Eve -- we went to church yesterday - both services were candlelight so we attended the earlier one at 3:30 pm so the kids could have some down time after church during dinner and desert time, etc. We made sugar cookies and frosted them this week, we bought Hickory Farms meats and cheeses, we liked giving out cookie trays to a few of our neighbors and most of all we loved singing "Happy Birthday Jesus" - songs learned at Sunday School and performed last weekend. Briana sang in the choir at Christmas Service - Taylor enjoyed a service project outing with the girl scouts and the little ones had holiday parties last week before break. Briana made pancake puffs with sausage this morning for breakfast and we enjoyed tracking santa all day yesterday curtosy of norad -- we even saw him fly over Colorado Springs ! Everyone recieved presents they wanted - what an abundance we have been blessed with this year - but most of all, we have our health, each other and Jesus ! We love each of you and wish you and yours the best holiday season !

"ONE DENNY DECEMBER"

2008-12-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL !

2008-12-14T10:44:00.001-08:00

WOW ! What a busy and fast paced last few weeks we have had ! Of course, we are still on cloud nine over our baptizm and acceptance into our home church as members. What an awesome extended family God has blessed us with! My mom and step-dad were here over the Thanksgiving holiday and while Ray flew home after only 10 days here; my mom didn't leave until just a few days ago - this past Friday....after three weeks here I think she got a sufficient grandchild fix and more motivation to move here soon to be close to our family!

We have made some changes to our daily lives to add some spice to things - not that it isn't busy enough anyway! I have been convicted to give away lots of our belongings to others in need and have been actively going thru boxes and extra clothes in the kids' closets, etc. Although I would like to do it more often and do more at one time - I plug away when I can and sneak stuff out of the house when the kids are at school. The blessings in return have been abundant and wonderful !

I have joined a ministry team that visits the respite senior home once a month for fun and fellowship with the residents - many of whom have little to no visitors. I help new moms of multiples here in town by coordiating a meal makers team thru our local multiples club that helps new members who have (mostly) twins, etc.

Another big change recently is that Alexis will be switching into a new class at preschool - still the same school just one classroom over - joining Anthony in his class. Although I was initially hesitant to switch her classroom setting, the new teacher has assured me she is ready for another special needs addition to the class and has a "plan of attack" for when the switch is made which includes potty training, patterning, repeat comprehensive vocabulary, etc. Steven and I feel most comfortable with the switch after consulting with therapists, teachers, etc.....and hopefully we will see progress and initiation on Alexis' part soon!

As I stuff and label our Christmas cards this year - I am struck just by how lucky we really are every day here. Although our finances and job stability are a never ending roller coaster and the kids' activities keep us busy - we wouldn't have it any other way!

In fact, Steven and I are looking to grow our family once again - it is quite excited dispite that obvious shock from those around us. We are looking into adoption thru the local foster care system. Before you get too excited - please hear us out......many children that come into the system end up never getting adopted and aging out at 18 - literally being thrown on the streets to fend for themselves. Most people wanting to adopt look for children 4 and under and not too many people want sibling groups thus the children get split up - usually because a younger sibling is adopted and the older ones are left behind.

Steven and I would love to help children like this....we are not rich, we are not perfect - but we love children and would hate to see siblings split up because they weren't wanted. We would love a sibling group of 2 (sisters or a brother/sister) and prefer the older ones since Alexis is enough in the diapering department. We are looking for kids' between the ages of 5 and 10 - lots to pick from (sadly) since most aren't wanted by that age. Our hope is that we can provide a stable, loving home for a few kids who have a home to come back to after they are grown.

We hope this update finds you enjoying the holiday hustle and bustle and keeping grounded in Christ and the sactifices He made for each of us. We love you all !

BLESSED DAYS !

2008-11-27T08:39:00.000-08:00

Though I am sorry for the long delay in updates; our family has been so busy with daily activities, visits from family and school goings - on. This month has been filled with (in short order) Julian losing his first tooth, a visit from Grandma Florence and Aunt Diana, volunteering in the classroom(s) - five different ones at two different schools - and preping for the holiday season upon us !

A major event in the Denny home happened last week when Steven and I were both full-emertion baptized last Sunday at our church ! What an exciting and anticipated day for both of us! Steven, having been raised Catholic, was "sprinkled" as an infant and there is still a debate going as to weather "I" was ever baptized as a preemie infant in the NICU on an emergency basis.

As I understand it - my twin brother was baptized and given last rites in quick order on an emergency basis before he died at 72 hrs. old. The assumtion always was that I recieved the same due to being so sickly as a "micro preemie" in the late
70's.

We decided on this past weekend as a good time due to the Thanksgiving season - as we are so blessed daily by God's provision for our family and my mom and step-dad came into town for a few weeks so my mom got to see this event as well - making it a special time for her!@ All our children came in from their prospective sunday school classes and got to witness this special event as well (thanks to all our wonderful teachers who took time out of the lessons to walk the kids into the worship center to witness our baptisms!)

As I write this - Steven is putting the turkey in the oven (after I stuffed it for the first time !) - my mom is sitting with the kids in the living room watching the "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" a tradition for us and Gramdpa is sleeping in down in the basement! The dog has stolen a few sausage patties from breakfast; kids are asking for treats already; I have had my fill of coffee; and we are all so thankful for God's blessings on our family - especially since moving to Colorado last year!

HAVE A BLESSED AND THANKFUL WEEKEND - WE SEND OUR LOVE TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY !

Tooth Tails

2008-11-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

So this past weekend I was on a lengthy phone conversation with an old friend from CA and in the middle of the phone call, Julian comes up to me and hands me something and says, "Here you go mom" and runs off. I look down and in the palm of my hand is a micro-mini tooth! I stood there speachless for a moment and wondered where this prized possession could have come from since the quints were too young for this type of thing.....well, then Julian runs back up to me and goes, "Look at the hole in my mouth mom !" - he is so proud of himself and I am beside myself !

My baby lost his first tooth! He promptly put in an order for Briana to make him a little tooth fairy pillow so he could put it under his pillow that night. Briana made him a little pillow and I bagged his tooth, put it in the pocket and put it under his regular pillow that night.

Imagine his suprise the next morning when he pulled the pillow out, opened up the little baggie and pulled out a quarter! It's enough to get a gumball next time we are at the store ! Whew - another phase conquered - but not easily comfortable with!

2008-11-07T09:05:00.001-08:00

2008-11-07T08:20:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone !

I hope the beginning of November finds you trying to stay healthy, avoid contagious diseases and not getting cabin fever quite yet ! Things here have been busy as is the daily life of a mom with seven kids; five the same age. Oh, how I wish for the days when no one could talk and I could just stick a bottle in their mouths and be met with silence! We had a fun Halloween Week - first celebrating with the CSPOMS Harvest Party followed by the harvest festival at ACC (our church). The week of halloween we had two preschool class parties on Wednesday (29th), the other two on Thursday followed by the MVE party (elem. school) for Taylor's class and Trick or Treating on Friday. Saturday followed with a trip to get haircuts by Julie (Dad's hairdresser here) and one last harvest party at the elementary school. I would have prefered to skip the last harvest party on Saturday the 1st however having prepaid for punch cards for games and treats, etc....I felt compelled to at least show up for a small amount of time.

Though I was glad that the celebrations were nicely spread out over the week; I am now equally as glad to have all the sugar-filled activities done with for now !

Have a great day !

2008-10-29T14:14:00.000-07:00

Check This Out !

2008-10-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

This past week we woke up to our first snow ! I took pictures at 6:00 in the morning when I got up to do my bible study and have my coffee and realized that the infamous white stuff had made it's appearence here in town - not just up in Pikes Peak.

2008-10-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

Well, today officially started the Halloween Festivities - we have many planned over the next week. My MIL and SIL arrived here from California this past Thursday afternoon and are enjoying seeing how much the kids have grown - especially my SIL as she hasn't seen 'em in about two years. We decided to take her to Focus on the Family and today, Steven took her on a drive thru Garden of the Gods and around town while the kids and I attended a local multiples club harvest festival. The kids all got to decide what they wanted to dress up as this year (the first year I let everyone decide) and suprisingly enough, it went much smoother then I thought it would. I only had to run out last week and pick up one costume for Alexis. Everyone else chose from the ones we saved from years past and a few new ones I bought from another friend who has quads.

Attached are some pictures of the kids in their costume / multiple club party pix. More to be posted as the week goes on with another festival tonight at our home church, trick or treating on Friday and a trip to Steven's office to trick or treat there on Friday as well.

Taylor - Cheetah, Alexis - Sleeping Beauty, Joshua - M & M, Anthony - Lion, Julian - Spiderman, Jiliana - Ladybug

Blessings on your week !

My Local News Interview

2008-10-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.kktv.com/2008election/headlines/31232174.html

This is the link for the interview I did with the local Channel 11 news. I was able to "read" it instead of watch the video. I hope you can do the same. Have a great day!

2008-10-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

Here's are the pictures from Red Robin (details in previous post).......the kids enjoyed meeting "Red" the bird and having kids' sized root beer floats ! They were well behaved and liked having happy birthday sang to them~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BABIES !

2008-10-19T18:03:00.000-07:00

Happy 5th Birthday to my little miracle children - Alexis Diana, Joshua Stanley, Anthony Frank, Julian Matthew and Jiliana Hattie ! Steven and I can hardly believe that it has been five years since our lives changed forever ! When Dr. Elliott unfolded each of my children and showed them to me over the blue seperation sheet; I knew each one would be special in his/her own way.........although I didn't realize how much until we all came home and I got to experience them all together at one time! This year, we decided to keep things much more low key then in years' past - amazingly enough, the kids have really enjoyed lots of "little treats" instead of one big bash.

Friday the 17th was their actual birthday and we took them to Build A Bear to make their own special friend! Boy, was that a big deal! As you can see - they really enjoyed picking out and making their new friend! When we were done with Build A Bear, we took them to Sonic for Jr. banana splits and then ordered pizza for dinner.

We let them open up their present from Grammy Susan - nice little "semi-hard" Disney Charactar baseballs - that was interesting once they started throwing them around inside although I must say, nothing has been broken yet! The night was rounded out with a nice Frankenstein cake in honor of the Spooky Season upon us !

Saturday had planned the two little girls attending a birthday party of a little girl they know from Sunday School at church. It was held at Focus on the Family - which we enjoy attending often anyway. Jiliana went to the party and Alexis stayed at home with her siblings; we then got a call from a friend that helps at the local Republican Victory Office. She asked if we wanted to be interviewed for the news because our political signs were stolen out of our front yard the week prior. So we were on the news again! The interview was spliced into the newstory and made the five o'clock news locally.

The reporter found out during the course of our interview that I had seven children, including a set of quints whom had just celebrated a birthday - well, of course we were asked if there was a big party planned. I shared that we were doing lots of little things that were fun and rare for us. Our next treat was to take the kids to Red Robin to get birthday treats this afternoon after church. The reporter asked if she could do a story on us and meet us at the restaurant - we said of course, so we are now "out of hiding" so to speak.

The New Development This Week (and other outragious stories!)

2008-10-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

First off, let me start by saying that compared to lots of other HOM families, I have it easy. You jest? Some might say that statement is crazy in itself, but comparitavly speaking, everyone has their own set of hardships to deal with in life; mine just happen to be in the medical mishap department.

Last week seemed to go by smoothly enough, having recovered from five tonselectomies, one ER surgery and loosing my oldest daughter for about an hour after an away cross country meet (long story, another day!) -- I'd say that things were quite calm all things considered. Having said that, Obviously it was too much for me to state such a fact, because last night Joshua (AKA Quint "B") who has always been my biggest moose and my biggest "baby" during sickness -- he actually woke me up from this strange cough he kept having. I would guestimate somewhere around three in the morning, I woke up, went into his room (that he shares with his two other bros.) and realized just how weird this cough sounded. So I promptly picked him up, took him into bed with me and dh where we all three didn't get much more sleep after that. No fever, chills, complaints of pain, etc, just this stupid cough.

So, "Mama Denny Nurse" coming to the rescue, getting online first thing this morning, cruising "Web MD" like a used car bonanza, trying to figure out what the heck I am dealing with and I come across the syptoms list like the bling on the liquor store marquee that says, "ON SALE: -- croup, or barking seal cough. Now, I was 99 % sure this is what he had, but of course, I don't hold the medical degree, I just play nurse full time to seven kids including two that are quite regularly what we refer to around here as "breathing optional".....I call dh and after a quick pow-wow realize that I have to go to the real professionals to make sure my son is getting enough oxygen during this funky cough since the smaller the child the bigger the risk (so that's why all my kids are so underweight?!?!)..........

..........okay, so I decide that dh should come home to take care of the other four while I take Josh to the urgent care about two miles away as it's much closer to our home then the PCP who is all the way across town and a same day would at best be in the afternoon -- not doable when I have to be at home waiting for other kids to get home from their schools. My oldest is already at school, my middle just left for the bus stop at the corner, the other four are asking for breakfast and I am off with Joshua in tow to find out two things:

What are my son's saturations (oxygen levels) and is this contagious?

We arrive at the urgent care to find the facility pretty much empty (praise Jesus!) and get in to see the PA within about an hour (not bad for a walk in basis) upon listening to my son for about ten seconds, I, too, concures it is indeed Croup with a side of horseness (no voice). So we get Dexotrol (steriods) liquid for a one time jump-start dose to recovery and a prescription for nebulizer with albuterol for breathing treatments just like when the kids were six mos. old and got RSV.

So, now we are headed home to relieve dad to go back to work and I am left to get the kids ready for school since today is school pictures (yeah me!) and one is staying home with me. Oh yeah, I did mention that this week is conferences so the district is closed on Thursday and Friday with no school so we were working with a three day week to begin with !

Okay, well, since it's only Monday, I'm sure a lot more juicy info will trickle down my way yet - the week is young!!!

Blessings on your day!

What a Blessing !

2008-10-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! I hope this find everyone having a productive and healthy fall season !! We are now back in the school groove complete with PM preschool, playing room mom in Taylor's third grade class and making sure Briana is keeping up her grades in middle school (she is doing lovely!) .....it has been a hard adjustment coming down from all these medical procedures and time off from school, etc...........

......however God has been so gracious to put in our family life some awesome Christ-followers who struggle the same struggles, weather with kids or finances or jobs. He has been so gracious to provide for all our needs and even some of our wants, despite the fact sometimes we don't think it 's in the right order! I have slowly learned (and am still learning) that if I just pray it into existence; it will happen and for that I am in awe every day.

........when I think about where I was one year ago (right before we relocated here from southern CA) I cannot beleive how much our family has been blessed with; I prayed for a long time that we would move out of California - a place that is hostile for the most part, high cost of living and not family friendly - but never did I imagine that we would move to a town where we are the norm - large families are A BLESSING here - albeit the quintuplet part still leaves folks stumped - but never once have I heard "Wow, I'm really sorry for you"......and that is so refreshing! Steven has connected with other Christian men at our church; I attend a mid-week women's bible study and the kids enjoy going to church. We have gotten involved in our community - the local GOP office - the multiples club - the school.....things we didn't have time for back in California.

Though we have less money and resources now then we did in CA - God has blessed our lives so richly - it really doesn't matter.....we have each other and caring friends and supportive family.

Okay, I didn't expect to get on this whole "We are so lucky" box - but sometimes, I just have to stop and appreciate what is right in front of me..........

This Week........

2008-09-26T08:01:00.000-07:00

......started off normal enough, but to keep in line with daily drama around here, quickly got out of hand.......on Monday, everyone went to school, even Taylor. She came home very tired and I gave her meds and made her stay down for the afternoon.
On Tuesday, I sent Briana off to school, got Taylor ready for school and the quints ready to head out to therapy (we have back to back sessions at two different places on Tuesdays)......but when Taylor came downstairs for breakfast, I knew something wasn't right.
She was telling me she was swallowing blood and looked a bit pale in the face, so I called the ENT practice of dr.s who did all the kids' surgeries and the on call dr. called me back 9 minutes later! Anything with the word "blood" in it was an immediate "Do not pass go, do not collect 200.00, go straight to the ER" which couldn't have been anything positive. So instead of going to therapy with all the kids in tow, we were now headed to the hospital where the ENT office had just opened up their new medical offices. We walked right in, got assessed by an ER dr. who then paged the on call ENT clinic dr. who then walked over from his offices, who informed me that Taylor needed to be rushed into the OR for a "re-do" on the right side of her throat. I called a friend from church, who came and got the quints for me and watched them for the day. Steven was on his way from work, but not before they had to start an IV on Taylor - boy she was so brave - much more then I could be! She held so still and though it was massively boring for the quints to sit on the wall and read books, they did so good for an hour and a half in the ER triage room (we couldn't really call it a field trip because there was nothing in there you were allowed to touch !). So the day in a nutshell was:
7:00 am - wake up and realize we are having blood swallowing issues
7:30 am - called ENT practice and left message for on call dr.
7:39 am - on call dr. calls back and says go straight to ER
8:00 am - arrive at ER
8:30 am - assessed by ER doctor who then pages ENT dr.
9:00 am - ENT dr. arrives to assess Taylor
9:30 am - start IV on Taylor, friend picks up quints, dad arrives from work
9:50 am - wheeled into OR for "re-do" on right side of throat / left side looks lovely!
10:30am - wheeled into recovery where dad gives a kiss and heads back to work
11:00 am - mom goes back into recovery to sit with Taylor who is still sleeping
1:30 pm - discharged from recovery, head to Walgreens to pick up new medications
2:00 pm - we are back home, starting over with a cold liquid diet and missing school for another week

Later on at night - mom is so thankful things turned out the way they did and we had loving friends around us to help when we needed it........Taylor was so lucky to have caring dr.s and staff working on her even though it was on an emergency and rushed basis.......now, we are resting, resting, resting and catching up on schoolwork !!!!
Blessings on your week !

Taylor's Tonsils

2008-09-18T06:17:00.003-07:00

Taylor had her tonsils out this past Monday and she did remarkibly well...much better then the other four combined. The hardest part was she wasn't due to be checked in until 10:30 and taken to surgery until 11:30. They schedule their day based on age (youngest to oldest) so now that the kids are getting bigger, they are going later in the morning........a hard sell when you can't eat or drink after midnight no matter what time you are scheduled. I had my girlfriend come up to my house with her kids (she homeschools) to watch the quints and get them on the bus to school while I took T to the surgery center. Having never had any experience with hospitals, minimal exposure to dr. offices and urgent care centers, etc.....she was expectedly nervous and trying not to cry but the doctor is such a sweet lady and the nursing staff is so pediatric oriented - they treated her like a little queen and that helped a lot. Steven met us there right before she was taken back and stayed until they put her in recovery. She was so nervous about waking up during the surgery and she ended up being knocked out not even two breaths into the gas mask - snoring away :-) The anestesiologist was shocked she went out so quickly and without a fight......it was funny really. My friend got the kids on the bus and drove her brood back home while I sat with Taylor in recovery and Steven went back to work for the day. Then my cell phone rang about 1.5 hrs. into recovery.....it was the preschool. Generally speaking, when the school calls during the day when your kids are there, you brace yourself for something going wrong....well, this teacher calls and says, "Hi this is Miss Lynn, you need to come get Jiliana from class - she is lethargic and has a fever of 102*.....can you come get her?" - WHAT THE HECK? I am in a hospital, my husband is already back at work after having taken off for a 2-hr. lunch to be at the hospital with me and Taylor - our emergency contact on the forms for preschool is my homeschooling friend who just went home after getting them on the bus.......there is NO ONE to pick her up - not this day anyway. So after some prayers and clear thinking, the best I can do is tell my husband to bring work home with him and go pick her up since she has a fever and we dont' know what it is. The teacher also shared that the preschool policy is after a fever the child stays home for a day to "recover" then can come back - all except I am supposed to be caring for Taylor who just had her tonsils out and the only alone "spoiling" time she gets is when they are ALL supposed to be at school.........*sigh* I would say "what next" but I know better now !

.......the rest of the week................

2008-09-18T06:17:00.002-07:00

Awhile back, Steven and I had decided I should get more involved with the local chapter of the multiples club here in town and I have been trying to find places to help since the summer ended and school started. This past Thursday was the monthly meeting which I desperately wanted to attend, however was leery of asking my poor husband after the previous days' shinanegans (sp?). He gladly let me go to the monthly meeting including the break out time prior to the general meeting where we meet in small groups based on our multiples age. Then there was the general meeting and afterwards we went across the street for drinks at the Elephant Bar. I was happy to volunteer to be a Caring Touch Coordinator since it's involvment with a pregnant mom following her thru the babies' 3-month mark. It is sporatic whenever we have a pg. mama join and I can be involved as much or little as I want (phone calls or home visits, etc).....I got to know some of the ladies' much better after our meeting last week and feel I can now have more of a voice in the local club functions, etc......Briana had a track meet and although she fell down and got hurt, she said other kids stopped running to help her up - from other schools no less - so there are polite kids left in the world these days !
Friday was Anthony's pediatric endoranology apt. for a blood hormone level test....Steven had already agreed to take him since he does better with his dad. They were running a bit late, but no worse the wear for it......Anthony did great - didn't even cry during the IV insertion and had fun spending the day with Daddy, although it is a long day laying in a chair with an IV in your arm, watching movies and not eating until after it's done....especially for a four year old. Anthony was a real trooper and slept the whole way home so he could be ready to show his siblings his battle scar when he got home. We usually get results after 7 to 10 days. I went to the gym Friday with the four that were home with me, although that proved to be difficult since it was pouring down rain all day.........but they had fun at the gym, so I decided to further abuse myself by taking them to Walmart to get a gift for Taylor's friends' birthday whose party was the next day.....the kids did so good sitting in the cart, going to the TOY SECTION, not asking for anything and picking out a toy for Taylor's friend - they earned a candy at the checkout line.....I was massively impressed since I try to avoid Walmart at all costs and NEVER take the kids due to too must eye candy and busyness in the store. The hardest part was walking in and out of the parking lot in the rain because of sensory issues, etc......sometimes I really wish I could have handicapped cards for the van, just to avoid the dangers of crossing a large parking lot with all the little ones..........so that was the end of last week; not to be repeated anytime soon !!!!

.......the saga continues........

2008-09-18T06:17:00.001-07:00

........okay so to continue the saga for the week for last week, Steven picks up B from middle school and as they are driving home he asks her, "So did they do a random check for lice at school today or something weird like that?" to which Briana quickly replies, "No, I just saw a bunch of white stuff like spots in my hair and I didn't know what it was, so I went to the nurses office because I thought it was lice" - WHAT?!?!?!?!? After poor Steven pulls the car over and yells at her things I can't repeat, he drives her home, orders her to take a shower, don't touch her hair and sit in the middle of the floor in her room until her mother gets home. Oh yeah, he added the whole "your mother's gonna kill you" line to make sure she understood how serious this was.
Her uncanny ability to run her mouth caused dad to miss work, mom to have to rush home from running around in the morning and spend the whole afternoon calling and planning to take her to the PCP's office (all the way across town no less!) to verify so does NOT have lice and to get a note stating such. So I get home, check her out, brush and wrap up her hair, get the quints lunch, get them on the bus for school, call the dr. office and was lucky enough to get a same day apt. in the afternoon while everyone else was at school.
After driving across town in the van (easily $10 in gas) waiting for almost an hour in the hallway of the dr. office (it was WED, the most crowded day of the week with all four dr.'s being in the office seeing people) getting a note verifying no lice, just dandruff with a side of stupidity - also asking for a medication for dandruff shampoo - we were on our way back home for the day--trying to beat the preschool bus home by 3:30. I had long since given up going to the YMCA to work out or getting any laundry or housecleaning done. I walk in the door, take the kids off the bus, get snacks for all and walk right back out again - to pick Taylor up from Girl Scouts......no bus ride home on Wednesday due to G.S. not ending until 4:30. Come back home and decide that after the day I had, kids in this house will be lucky to get any food for dinner, much less something hot and cooked :-)

What a Week!

2008-09-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, you know when you have one of those days that calls for a do-over and then you realize it's taking over your whole week? Well, that pretty much sums up the last week for me. It started off on Monday, when I went to an at home business meeting and was late because my girlfriend and I went out to eat first (how often do you really do that?!).....then on Tuesday, I had therapy for Alexis at two different places, but the second place called to cancel so after feeding therapy finished, I decided to take the kids to Focus on the Family to place in the indoor place area. The kids were okay, but it had been so long since we had been there that they were a bit on the hyper side and other families stared (for the first time in a long time.)....then the bus showed up early, so we didn't have backpacks and water bottles ready on time to load up for school either. Now we are onto Wednesday which proves that when you think things couldn't possibly get any more crazy, they do. I had Taylor home from school that morning to go to the ENT for a pre-op for her tonsil surgery as well as having all the quints there to have the four checked out post-op.
I load everyone up, get to the office on time and realize i am at the wrong facility. A new hospital opened up two weeks ago in the northeast part of town and the ENT practice of six drs. all rotate clinic between their old office (still totally open and functioning) and the new offices located at the new hospital that just opened. So I find out from the receptionist at the old office that the dr. is doing clinic that particular day at the new facility, of which I have never been to! So I load everyone back into the van and while attempting to find the new my cell phone rings. Seeing it's Briana's - I'm a bit concerned since it's supposed to be on vibrate in her backpack for the day. So she proceeds to tell me that she is in the nurses office at school and she "thinks" she has head lice - I need to come pick her up. Excuse me?!?!?!?
So, like any good wife, I immediately said "Call your father" and hung up - within thirty seconds I get a call from my distraught husband, "What the hell am I doing now?" is the response on the phone! We quickly assess that he has to pick her up at shcool and run her home because I am on my way to the ENT appoitnment, now one hour late and trying to find the new facility.......*sigh*, I give up!!!
I will update more on the week later today or tomorrow, I am on my way to work out some of my frustrations at the "Y". Blessings to all :-)

My Famous Quote

2008-09-09T14:35:00.001-07:00

A friend found a quote on the AP from me from the RNC last weekend

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080906/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_palin

* PALIN POWER *

2008-09-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

Well, today was such a life changing kind of experience! Steven, my best friend Rachel and myself attended the Republican Rally right here in Colorado Springs! John McCain with his wife, Cindy and his VP pick, Sarah Palin spoke and I was within 100 feet from them! It was an incredible thing to be there - have you ever seen 13,000 american flags waiving in the air while singing ".....o say can you see" ?

We quite enjoyed ourselves despite the lack of accessable restrooms, the pounding sun and occational pushing and shoving from the back as people jockyed for position....I was the first row right after the VIP section with the press, large company CEO's and other Republican reps from the city and state, etc........

Saying I was there was one thing, but having the up close and personal pix to prove it was another!!!

I had special shirts made for Steven and I that read "McCain * Palin - Officially Endorsed by the Denny Quintuplets" and on the back was a group shot of the kids with their names.........I got interviewed four times and quoted in an AP article and Steven was stopped by a reporter from the Washington Post on our way back to the car!

What a great day today!!!!! A once in a lifetime opportunity for sure !!!!!

What to do What to do?

2008-09-03T13:18:00.001-07:00

So, I am lamenting about the fact that I don't know what to do with myself because all my kids are in school now! So I sit down at the computer to check email and realize that I can't move! That would be because I went to work out this morning at the YMCA with my best friend and am now so sore my butt can't seem to go in an upward motion as is with standing from the sitting position.......well, I think I'll be here for awhile.......

PS - I don't think I have had a heartrate this high since my c-section with the babies ..........

Tonsil Time - Outs

2008-08-31T13:47:00.000-07:00

Thought I would add a blurb about the quints tonselectomies about 13 days ago. They are slowly recovering from left over throat and adnoid pain as well as "referred ear pain" as the ENT's explained was common one to two weeks post-op. We finished up "bubble gum" amoxicillian meds after seven days and we still have some Lortab (Tylenol based narcotics) for any pain they might have. We were administering that Q4 (every four hrs.) around the clock for the first week and as needed after that. It looks like we are on the home stretch just in time for Taylor's scheduled surgery on Monday, Sept. 15th.....whew, does it ever end ?

Attached are two pictures - one of Julian and Jiliana on "verced" a "loopy" drug administered before surgery to lessen the kids resistence to the anestesia and one of all four after tonsils out - notice how quiet it looks in the room?????

School Stories

2008-08-31T13:39:00.001-07:00

Okay, so it's been an interesting week. The quints started preschool this past Monday and the girls started the Monday before that. We have had the run of "I-dont-feel-like-going-to-school-today" attitudes but for the most part everyone is adjusting nicely to their new classrooms. We are still doing therapy three times a week as has been the M.O. since about April. Today at church I got talked into joining a women's bible study starting in two weeks on Wednesday mornings - fitting in one more thing in an already packed schedule has proved to be a fine art. We have Monday mornings and Friday's free right now - but other then that - there is something going on every weekday morning, preschool is in the afternoons and elementary and middle school commitments come after school in the late afternoon.

Though it is a busy schedule, I am so thankful the kids all have something to do now that is their own! I was at the YMCA joining last week and the swim instructor even offered to teach the quints swim lessons in their own little class with no other students which I think would be wonderful for them to do - like Taylor joining girl scouts and Briana doing band and cross country.

Speaking of cross country, Briana went to her first meet last week and tho she didn't place - she was within the first 30-40 kids out of over 100 six graders. She ran a mile and a half in just under 15 mins. -- an awesome feat in my book any day and better then any times I had while running back in high school.

Have a Safe and Happy Labor Day Weekend - we are enjoying NOT having company and hanging out at home! ;-)

A Day Out With the Denny's

2008-08-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

This was taken at the beginning of the summer when Grandma took us to Lil' Biggs....a special toddler playplace. L-R is Taylor, Jiliana, Julian, Alexis, Joshua, Anthony and Briana

Welcome to My New Blog !

2008-08-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

Okay folks, I am finally hopping on the blogging bandwagon and hoping I don't look like a fool doing it! When my quintuplets were little, I attempted to keep up with a website so interested parties could keep up with our family, however after a few years, it just got to be too time consuming. My hope is now that the kids are in school, I will have a chance to update more often and keep our friends and family in the loop. So here's to my attempt at keeping up with technology!